HOLIDAY group Thomas Cook plans to axe around 2,500 jobs, it has been revealed.

The firm said it will close 195 of its high street travel agencies as part of cost-cutting measures.

The job losses – 16 per cent of its 15,500 workforce in the UK and Ireland – will impact workers in retail as well as administration and back office staff.

Thomas Cook – which has four stores in Coventry, bases in Nuneaton, Kenilworth and Rugby, as well as two shops in Leamington – said the moves were being made as part of restructuring plans and to slash administration costs.

Having recently shut 168 stores, Thomas Cook will be left with 874 travel agencies across the UK and Northern Ireland.

It will confirm which stores are due to be closed later this week.

But it has been reported that many of the stores being axed are Co-operative Travel stores after Thomas Cook and Co-op merged their high street businesses in 2011.

Thomas Cook is also planning to shut its Accrington office in the North West in a move impacting around 100 roles. The firm’s recently appointed UK and Ireland chief executive, Peter Fankhauser, said the proposals will help return the group to profitability.

Mr Fankhauser said: “Thomas Cook is a much-loved brand that needs to make the proposed changes to secure our future and provide continued employment for many thousands across the UK and better meet the needs of our customers going forward.”